Radford University Athletics

Justin Willard is entering his fifth season with the Highlanders and second in the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator role. Willard served in the volunteer assistant role for three seasons. He assists with all facets of player development and works primarily with the outfielders.
 
Willard has played a major role in the Highlanders recent success, helping Radford compile a 124-110 record over the four-year span, including a program record 45 wins during the 2015 season.
 
The historic 2015 season saw the Highlanders capture the Big South regular season and tournament championships, advancing to the NCAA regional round for the first time in program history. Radford concluded the 2015 season with a No. 22 national ranking after defeating Lipscomb and Indiana to advance to the Nashville Regional final where they faced eventual national runner-up Vanderbilt.
 
Willard’s 2016 recruiting class ranked 73^rd in the country, which was highlighted by AJ Alexy, an 11^th round pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers. A dark horse in the class, Spencer Horwitz was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American.
 
In Willard’s first full season as recruiting coordinator, Radford collected its second Big South Tournament Championship in three years, outscoring opponents 29-8 in four tournament games. The Highlanders earned a bid in the Louisville Regional.
 
The 2015 and 2017 seasons saw Radford match a program record with six all-conference performers. In 2017, Zack Ridgely became the second Highlander in program history to be named Big South Pitcher of the Year, joining former first-round pick Eddie Butler. In the two-championship season, Radford had four players drafted and two non-drafted free agent contracts.
 
Prior to Radford, Willard served as a graduate assistant and recruiting coordinator for his alma mater Concord University in Athens, W.Va. In his time at Concord, Willard coached 16 all-conference honorees, eight Rawlings/ABCA All-Atlantic Region Team members and the program’s first consensus NCAA Division II All-American (Joey Miller). In 2013, Concord advanced to its third NCAA Regional in program history, setting a program record in wins with 38.
 
In his recruiting coordinator role at Concord, Willard recruited back-to-back Mountain East Conference Freshmen of the Year in Andy Szamski (2015) and Trevor Wiersma (2016).
 
Willard graduated from Concord in 2013 after a successful playing career with the Mountain Lions that ended with two West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships in 2011 and 2013.
 
He played his first two collegiate seasons at Northern Oklahoma Junior College where he was a member of the second-ranked team in the country and an Academic All-America selection.
 
Willard graduated with honors in business administration from Concord and earned his Master of Business Administration from Radford.